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Archive of "New Filipino maid suspected of having Aids sent home", The Straits Times, 29 August 1989
=Scan of article & page= =Editable text of article= New Filipino maid suspected of having Aids sent home By SERENA TOH A FILIPINO maid, suspected of having the Aids virus, was sent home yesterday just one week after she arrived in Singapore. She had tested negative a month ago during an Aids virus screening test in the Philippines. The laboratory, in Quezon City, is accredited by both the Philippines' Department of Health and Department of Labour and Employment. But the same screening test, called the Elisa test, done in a Singapore private laboratory last week, proved positive for the maid, aged 29. Subsequently a second test, called the Western Blot confirmation test, was inconclusive. In Singapore, a person is considered to have the Aids virus when both tests are positive. First case involving maid When asked why the same Elisa screening test could show different results, doctors explained that this could be due to a "window period" when antibodies do not appear in the blood. A Ministry of Health spokesman said yesterday this is the first case where a maid has been found positive for the Elisa screening test. A ministry source said fewer that 20 foreigners, including three prostitutes, have tested positive for Aids since the first case was detected in Singapore in 1985. The Health Ministry is, together with other ministries, still looking into the issue of compulsory testing for foreign workers. The maid was brought here on Aug 21 by an employment agency, TC Personnle. Following company policy, Mr P. K. Tan, a consultant with the agency, sent her for Hepatitis B and Aids testing the next day. Meanwhile, she was sent to her employer, Madam S. H. Tan, 29, who has a two-year-old son. But on Wednesday, the Elisa test result was known. It proved to be positive. Mr Tan then arranged for the Western Blot test. The maid had spent Tuesday night with the family. She had slept in the same room as Madam Tan's nieces aged three and five. Madam Tan said yesterday she did not think her two nieces needed to he tested as there was no close contact with the maid. She worked at Clark Air Base A doctor, contacted by The Straits Times said that there has been no cases of Aids being transmitted from a victim to other members of a household. The maid had previously worked for two years as a domestic help for a United States captain's family at Clark Air Base in the Philippines. Mr Tan, who said his agency is one of the few which send their maids for Aids and Hepatitis B testing, said: "I hope other compsnies will also start testing for these illnesses. "The government should also make testing compulsory for maid agencies in the interest of families in Singapore." A Ministry of Labour spokesman said Hepatitis B and Aids tests are not required for a work permit to be granted. At present, foreign workers go through a medical examination which includes tests for tuberculosis, venereal disease and pregnancy. =See also= *Archive of "Three in S’pore found with Aids-linked virus", The Straits Times, 10 April 1985 *Archive of "Aids virus: Doctor who 'found it'", The Sunday Times, 14 April 1985 *Archive of "A chance to be ahead in medicine", The Singapore Monitor, 16 April 1985 *Archive of "Aids on ‘must report’ list", The Straits Times, 17 April 1985 *Archive of "Undergrads to be taught about Aids", The Straits Times, 21 April 1885 *Archive of "16 more may be carriers of Aids virus", The Straits Times, 30 April 1985 *Archive of "Aids doctor thanks mum", The Straits Times, 12 May 1985 *Archive of "Special lab to do Aids tests soon", The Straits Times, 18 May 1985 *Archive of "Man with Aids related virus in hospital", The Straits Times, 21 July 1985 *Archive of "Aids carrier leaves hospital", The Straits Times, 28 July 1985 *Archive of "Ministry steps up Aids drive", The Straits Times, 5 September 1985 *Archive of "Singapore ‘first in the world’ to have 100 % screening of donor blood", The Straits Times, 11 September 1985 *Archive of "S’pore-Stanford research tie-up bid", The Straits Times, 10 October 1985 *Archive of "Aids: 20,000 cleared", The Straits Times, 29 November 1985 *Archive of "200 turn up for first public medical convention", The Straits Times, 28 April 1986 *Archive of "Screening tests likely to uncover more Aids carriers", The Straits Times, 1 May 1986 *Archive of "100 people could be Aids carriers here: Expert", The Straits Times, 3 August 1986 *Archive of "Aids claims first victim here", The Straits Times, 11 April 1987 *Archive of "Fear of Aids pushes up condom sales", The Straits Times, 19 April 1987 *Archive of "Govt dental clinics phasing out boiling", The Straits Times, 1 October 1987 *Earliest cases of HIV/AIDS in Singapore *HIV/AIDS in Singapore's LGBT community *Paddy Chew *Avin Tan *Ajmal Khan *Calvin Tan *Adrian Tyler =References= *Serena Toh, "New Filipino maid suspected of having Aids sent home", The Straits Times, 29 August 1989[]. =Acknowledgements= This article was archived by Roy Tan. Category:Archive of LGBT articles